Portable electronic devices such as mobile cellular telephones usually include a transmitter and/or a receiver and an antenna arrangement for wireless communications. During manufacture, it may be desirable to test parameters of the transmitter and/or the receiver to determine whether they meet predefined standards.
For example, one parameter which may be tested is the transmission power levels of a transmitter. In various radio frequency protocols, the output power of a signal from a transmitter depends on the distance between the communicating devices. As the distance increases between the devices, the output power of the signal from the transmitter increases in increments. Since many radio frequency communication service providers (e.g. mobile cellular telephone service providers) require the output power levels to be at predetermined levels, it may be useful to sense the output from the transmitter during manufacturing and then adjust the output power levels if necessary.
In order to carry out the above tests, a test connector (e.g. a coaxial switch connector) is provided between the transmitter and/or the receiver and the antenna element and matching circuitry. During testing, a radio frequency (RF) probe may be connected to the test connector in order to measure a parameter of the output from the transmitter and/or receiver. However, test connectors have an associated financial cost and are not usually used after the portable electronic device has been manufactured. In particular, coaxial switch connectors are relatively expensive and may increase the cost of a device in which they are fitted.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an alternative antenna arrangement.